FOI-03935

##Request At this stage I would appreciate if you could pass my request to the appropriate department or individual, I would like to make a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for the following information: 1. The number of occasions between 17/06/2024 and 17/06/2026 that a decision has been taken not to proceed with a penalty charge notice after the initial investigation letter has been sent for any reason other than payment exemption being established upon investigation (for clarity, any instance where a PCN was not issued despite a failure by the recipient to demonstrate they were eligible for a free prescription). If you do not categorise the cancellation of PCNs along the exact category I described, please provide a breakdown by the reason categories that you do use. 2. The number of occasions between 17/06/2024 and 17/06/2026 where a penalty charge notice was withdrawn, without payment by the recipient, for any reason other than the establishment of eligibility for a free prescription. If you do not categorise the cancellation of PCNs along the exact category I described, please provide a breakdown by the reason categories that you do use. 3. Copies of all e-mails (with any personal information redacted) or entries into case management systems by NHS Business Services staff confirming the discretionary decision either not to proceed with or to withdraw a penalty charge notice for claiming a free prescription without eligibility. 4. Copies of correspondence sent by NHS Business Services officials between 17/06/2021 and 17/06/2026 to Members of Parliament or their offices, with all personal information redacted, where the Member of Parliament or their staff have made representations on behalf of a constituent who is either facing or has received a penalty charge notice. 5. A copy of any policy or internal guidance relating to handling customer enquiries around Penalty Charge Notices, including any e-mails by management providing guidance on this topic. 6. A copy of any internal documents provided by qualified colleagues providing interpretations of the legislation that provides for these penalty charges. 7. A copy of any internal policies or guidance related to dealing with vulnerable customers, including e-mails sent by management offering guidance on this subject. The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 17 June 2026. We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). ##Our response ##Question 1 The amount of cases closed was 48,426 ##Question 2 The amount of cases withdrawn without payment was 52,294 ##Category breakdown for Questions 1 and 2 I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the requested information; however, the requested information contains information which could be used to avoid paying charges and therefore commit fraud. This information is exempt under section 31(1)(a) of the FOIA (law enforcement) as disclosure would prejudice the prevention or detection of crime. Section 31 is a qualified, prejudice-based exemption and is subject to the public interest test. This means that not only does the information have to prejudice one of the purposes listed, but before the information can be withheld, the public interest in preventing that prejudice must outweigh the public interest in disclosure. ##Public Interest Test: ##Considerations in favour of disclosure: Public interest in openness and transparency of public authority dealings. Contribute to public understanding of the NHSBSA’s procedures and actions regarding dental and prescription charges and penalty charge notices. ##Considerations against disclosure: Public interest in avoiding prejudice to the prevention or detection of crime. The legal duty to ensure that fraud is prevented against services provided by the NHSBSA. Releasing the information would provide the public with information which could be used to avoid paying charges and therefore commit fraud. There would be a financial impact to the NHS if correct charges are not being paid. ##Conclusion: The NHSBSA recognises that there is a public interest in disclosure of the information to promote transparency and assurance of NHSBSA's exemption checking service processes. The NHSBSA releases Knowledge Base articles publicly which provide information and transparency regarding penalty charges. These Knowledge Base articles coupled with information already in the public domain (https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-penalty-charges-and-enquiry-letters), contribute significantly to public transparency and understanding of the service. However, with regard to the requested information the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information as more weight is afforded to the arguments outlined above to avoid prejudice to the prevention or detection of crime. Please see the following link to view the section 31 exemption in full - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/31 ##Questions 3 and 4 The NHSBSA does hold the requested information; however, we estimate that the cost of compliance with the request would exceed the appropriate limit under section 12 of the FOIA. We estimate that the cost of complying with your request would exceed the non-central Government limit of £450. The limit has been specified in The Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 and represents the estimated cost of one person spending 18 hours in determining whether the NHSBSA holds the information, and locating, retrieving, extracting and checking the information. ##Question 3 Please see the following calculations which sets out the estimated cost for compliance with this request: Number of emails held is 1,191,366. It would take approximately 2 minutes to check if each email was relevant to the query. 1,191,366 emails x 2 minutes = 39,4712 hours and 12 minutes. ##Question 4 Please see the following calculations which sets out the estimated cost for compliance with this request: With 656 MP cases identified within the requested date range, the estimated time required to retrieve all cases would be: 656 cases × 6 minutes = 3,936 minutes (65.6 hours) Please see the following link to view the section 12 in full - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/12 ##Questions 5 and 6 Under Section 21 of the FOIA we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you. Please see the below link to our knowledge base which staff use to explain how PCNs are applied: https://faq.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/knowledgebase/category/?articlecategory=Exemption%20Checking%20Services%20%28ECS%29&id=CAT-01005&parentid= Please see the below link to the PCN regulations, which add further context: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/2794/contents/made Please see the following link to view the section 21 in full - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/21 ##Internal documents The link to the Knowledge Base articles above does provide the majority of information which staff use when handling queries regarding penalty charge notices. However, there are also internal copies of these articles which provide additional notes for staff. The NHSBSA does hold the requested information; however, we estimate that the cost of compliance with the request would exceed the appropriate limit under section 12 of the FOIA. We estimate that the cost of complying with your request would exceed the non-central Government limit of £450. The limit has been specified in The Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 and represents the estimated cost of one person spending 18 hours in determining whether the NHSBSA holds the information, and locating, retrieving, extracting and checking the information. Please see the following calculations which sets out the estimated cost for compliance with this request: There are 148 articles, and it would take approximately 10 minutes to check each article. 148 x 10 = 1,480 minutes (24 hours and 40 minutes) Please be advised that due to the way that the information is held by the NHSBSA, it is not possible to submit a refined request under the appropriate limit. Please see the following link to view the section 12 in full - ##Question 7 ##Internal Policies and Guidance Under Section 21 of the FOIA we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you. The information you requested is available on the NHSBSA website: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-03809. Please see the following link to view the section 21 in full - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/21 ##Emails The NHSBSA does hold the requested information; however, we estimate that the cost of compliance with the request would exceed the appropriate limit under section 12 of the FOIA. We estimate that the cost of complying with your request would exceed the non-central Government limit of £450. The limit has been specified in The Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 and represents the estimated cost of one person spending 18 hours in determining whether the NHSBSA holds the information, and locating, retrieving, extracting and checking the information. Please see the following calculations which sets out the estimated cost for compliance with this request: Number of emails held is 1,191,366. It would take approximately 2 minutes to check if each email was relevant to the query. 1,191,366 emails x 2 minutes = 39,4712 hours and 12 minutes. Please see the following link to view the section 12 in full - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/12 ##Data Queries Please contact [email protected] ensuring you quote the above reference if you have any specific questions regarding this response; or, if you feel you may be misunderstanding or misinterpreting the information; or, if you plan on publishing the data. ##Reusing the data and copyright If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact [email protected] . This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented. The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and is subject to NHSBSA copyright. This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence detailed at: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ Should you wish to re-use the information you must include the following statement: “NHSBSA Copyright 2026”. Failure to do so is a breach of the terms of the licence. Information you receive which is not subject to NHSBSA Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated. Please obtain their permission before reproducing any third party (non NHSBSA Copyright) information.